Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Donuts

by autumn on May 9, 2013

In the city, a bag full of rhubarb is the secret language of people with gardens in their pasts. Our garden gates were a row of peas on one side, rhubarb on the other. I was the pea cheerleader, a watchdog of their progress up my mom’s hand-made trellis, a carefully strung contraption of dowels and kitchen twine.

Thanks to my reputation for gauging the peas’ growth by eating them, I was warned away from the rhubarb whose big, billowy leaves I had been told were poisonous. Frankly, I wasn’t much interested in anything that I couldn’t pluck or pull right from the earth and stick directly in my mouth—even carrots, after a quick shake—that having the rhubarb off-limits wasn’t a much of a loss.

Now, I treasure it. Even its most skinny spring stalks can survive a day being carted around Brooklyn in this writer’s purse in an attempt to have it all: rhubarb and time with a good friend in one perfect Saturday with imperfect public transit. If you tell someone what to do with rhubarb, they will think that you know something and feel as if you have given them a gift. And if, say, you put rhubarb in a donut that’s something to be proud of.

Put the remaining cooked rhubarb into a fine mesh strainer positioned over a small bowl.

Stir the cooked rhubarb to help separate the pulp and strain the juice. Reserve the pulp for another use or discard.

Measure 1/8 cup of the strained juice (You should have a bit more than that. If you’re shy, you can sneak in a little water to make up the difference.) and combine it in a small bowl with 1 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar. Stir until smooth.

To Assemble:

Disclosure: There’s an Amazon.com affiliate link up there, which means I will receive an itty bitty commission on all purchases made through Amazon links in this post.

A few things:
1. I’m so glad your rhubarb survived, especially considering how wee the little stalks were! Thank you for risking your rhubarb to come hang with me in Brooklyn, even if it meant no Smorgasbord!
2. Donuts are one of the few foods that allude me, humble me and yet somehow compel me to bike halfway across my city at 6am. The fact that you’ve made them look this gorgeous is remarkable and worthy of my highest praise.
3. As you know from my “When in Rome” Ireland-rhubarb yogurt story, I have a thing for rhubarb in unusual places. Why we don’t adapt it as a year-round flavor, I’ll never know!

Welcome.

Hi! I'm Autumn. I'm a freelance writer in the desert, who adores home cooking. Here you'll find greenmarket-focused gluten-free food: sweets, cocktails, and preserving projects. These are all of the things I love to make and do. I'm the author of Beyond Canning! Read more about me here.